Clutch mechanism



A.. MooRHousE CLUTCH MECHANISM Filed July 20, 1952 Oct. 22, 1935.

Mmm.' lllllsl Patented V(Pct. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES CLUTCH MECHANISMAlfred Moorhouse, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Packard Motor Car Company,Detroit, Mich.. a corporation of Michigan Application July 20, 1932,Serial No. 623,505

13 Claims.

This invention relates to power transmission mechanism and moreparticularly `to clutch mechanism.

The conventional type of automobile clutch 1 which normally press thesecond driving element 15 toward the primary driving element to clampthe driven member therebetween, and spring pressed fingers are pivotallymounted on the cover member to release the spring pressed second drivingelement through suitable connecting means when actuated by a slidablecontrol sleeve. With such construction, the total spring pressure isresisted by the cover plate or anchored part of the connecting means andthe pressure of the throwout ng'ers is likewise resisted when the clutchis in released position. As the driving elements are connected so thatthey will not rotate circumferentially relatively, forces aretransmitted from the second driving element directly to the primarydriving element and, as a result, the zone of engagement of the clutchis limited and, unless the operator is careful in slipping the clutchinto engagement, there will be a grabbing action which causesvibrations, better known as clutch chatter.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and novel clutchstructure having a smooth and noiseless engaging action withoutrequiring skilled operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clutch structure with aresilient connection so that there can be a limited circumferentialmovement between the driving elements when engaging the driven elementto lengthen the engaging zone.

A further object of the invention is to provide vibration damping meansbetween the driving parts of a clutch between which a driven element isclamped.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a clutchconstruction in which torque reaction is cushioned..

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawing, which forms a part fthis specification, and in which;

(Cl. 19E- 55) Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a, clutchmechanism with which my` invention is incorporated and showing theclutch engaged;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the same with the clutchdisengaged.

vReferring now to the drawing by characters of reference, I0 rcpresentsadriving means, such as as the end of an engine crank shaft, to which aprimary drivingmember such as a iiywheel Il is xed by suitable fasteningmeans, as indicated at I2. The central portion'of the flywheel is formedwith an opening in which is carried a roller bearing I3 for supportingthe forward end of a transmission drive Shaft I4.

A driven member is arranged adjacent the rear face 2D of the vflywheeland includes a hub i5 y splined on the forward end -of the transmissiondrive shaft and secured thereto by spring mounty ed bolts I6 is a plateor disc l1, suitable pilots I8 being iixed to the plate and aligningwithopen- 20 ings formed in the hub. Fixed on each side of the clutchplate are friction facings i9, the forward one of which is adapted .toengage the face and the rear one of which engages with a second drivingmember in the form of a pressure ring 2|. When such`drivi'ng member ismoved forward s ufciently to clamp the driven member against theiiywheel face, then rotation is transmitted lfrom the flywheel to thetransmission shaft. When the second drivingv member releases the drivenmember from the Iface of the iiywheel, then of course'the. transmissionshaft is not driven.

It is the usual practice to provide a connecting means between theprimary and the second driving members which is of such a character thatthey rotate together, but. it is one of thev main purposes of thisinvention to provide a resilient connecting means so that there can be alimited circumferentialmovement between the two driving members. Thisconnectinglmeans includes the usual connecting mechanism extendingbetween the second driving member and the primary driving member such asan anchor member or support, in this instance, in the form oi .thesecond driving member will be held against t5` relative circumferentialmovement. Suitable studs, as indicated at 26, are anchored in the bossesand project through radially extending release or throw-out ngers 21 andnuts, as

indicated at 28, are screwed on the studs to prevent axial displacementof the fingers. The iingers project through openings 29 in the coverplate and are held against the walls forming the forward portions of theopenings by coil springs 30 so that, due to the springs and anchorage onthe studs 26, the release lingers normally are held in desired relationwith respect to the cover plate and, together with the cover plate andthe studs, forma part of the connecting means between the drivingmembers. The rear end of the flywheel forms a guide for the periphery ofthe rear cover and a securing ring 32 is ilxed to the end of the ywheelby suitable bolts 33. This securing ring preferably overlies theperipheral portion of the cover plate andi is in a spaced relationtherewith. Between the ring forming a part oi the primary driving memberand the cover plate, I kprovide a resilient or lyieldable means, in thisinstance illustrated as a circular rubber ring 3l, which forms a partof` the connecting means between the driving members. I prefer that thisring be bonded, as indicated at 35, to the securing ring and to theplate. It will be seen that the resilient means forms a part of theconnection between the two driving members so that the support or coverplate and ring 32 can move relatively a limited extent in the directionof the axis of the flywheel and can also rotate relativelya limitedextent in a direction normal to the axis of the flywheel.A

Slidable on the transmission driving shaft and engageable with the innerends of the release iingers is a shifter sleeve 3l with which suitableconventional control mechanism (not shown), amiored to -the motorvehicleframe, is associate As shown in Fig. 1, the clutch is inengagement and under which circumstance the release sleeve 3l has beenmoved to its reas.' position. In order to move the clutch into releasedposition, as shown in Fig. 2, the control sleeve 3| is moved forwardlyso thatit engages the inner ends of the release iingers 21 to move themtherewith and thus rock them on the cover plate so that the outer endsare moved rearwardly against the nuts 28 on the studs 26 thereby movingthe second driving member rearwardly.

When the shifter sleeve is disengaged from the throw-out ngers 21, theforces exerted by the springs 23 act to move the pressure ring to theleft engaging the clutch plates with the flywheel face 20, and they alsoact to move the cover 22 toward the right thus compressing the rubberring 3L When force is applied against the ngers by the shifter sleeve,they fulcrum on the cover 22 and through engagement with nuts 2l exert aforce on the studs 2G moving the pressure ring 2| and the clutch platesaway from the iiywheel face 20 and thereby disengage the clutch. lDuringthis disengaging action the springs 23 still exert pressure on the covertending to move it toward the right but such force on the plates is morethan overcome by the force exerted against the iingers 21 and thereaction forces at their iulcrum points so that the cover is actuallymoved to the left placing the rubber ring in tension, as shown in Fig.2.

It will be' seen that the cover plate is resilientlr connected to theiiywheel in what may be termed a resilient relation so that it caneither move in the direction of or normal to the axis of the ilywheeland thus cushion vibration occurring between the two 4driving elements.As a result, there will be no .chatter in the clutch mechanism and, dueto the bonding of the rub- 5 ber, torque reaction of the clutch istransmitted in a manner such that the rotational zone for the clutchengagement is lengthened and resistance to relative rotation of the twodriving members away from inactive position is gradually increased ascompared with a structure in which the two driving elements are xed torotate as a unit, and thus I provide a smoother clutch enpaging action.

Although the invention has been 'described 15 in connection with aspecic embodiment, the principles involved are susceptible of numerousother applications which will readily occur to persons skilled in theart. The invention is therefore to be limited only as indicated by thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim is;

l. In a clutch mechanism,thecombination of a driving member, a cover inaxially aligned relation with the driving member, and a rubber massbetween the cover and the driving member, said mass being bonded to boththe cover and the driving member, said mass being in tension when theclutch is disengaged and in compression when the clutch is engaged. y

2. In a clutch mechanism, a iiywheel, a securing ring xed to theflywheel, a cover having its periphery within the ywheel and spaced fromthe ring, and resilient means interposed between and fixed to the coverand the securing ring, said resilient means being in tension when theclutch is disengaged.

3. In a clutch mechanism, the combination of a driving member, a cover,and an elastic'means forming the sole connection between the driving 40member and the cover, said elastic means being in tension when theclutch is disengaged and being in compression when the clutch isengaged.

4. In a clutch mechanism, a iiywheel, a securing ring detachably securedto the iiywheel and axially removable therefrom, a cover having itsperipheral portion spaced interiorly of the iiywheel from the securingring, and a rubber mass between the ring and the peripheral portion o1'the cover, said rubber mass being bonded to the cover and to the ring. l

5. In a clutch mechanism, a primary driving member, a second drivingmember, a, driven member intermediate the driving members havingfrictional facings, said second driving member being axially movable toclamp or release the driven member relative to the primary drivingme'niber,l a bearing member. springs between the bearing member and thesecond driving member, a resilient connection joining the bearing memberand 00 the primary driving element, and a connection between the bearingmember and the second driving member fixing them against relativerotation.

6. In a clutch mechanism, the combination of a driven member, twcdriving members adapted to frictionally clamp the driven membertherebetween, and rubber connecting means joining the driving memberstogether, said means being in compression and allowing a limitedrelative rotation of said driving members of gradually decreasing speedwhen clamping the driven member, and being in tension when the drivenmember. is disengaged.

7. In a clutch mechanism, the combination of a driving member. a. coverin aligned relation with the driving member, and rubber means connectingthe cover and the driving member, said rubber means being entirely intension when the clutch is disengaged.

8. In a clutch mechanism, the combination of two driving members adaptedto clamp a driven member therebetween, and a rubber connecting meansjoining the driving members together, said rubber means being incompression when the driving members are clamped to the driven memberand being in tension when the driving members are disengaged from thedriven member.

9. In a clutch mechanism, a pirmary driving member, a second drivingmember, a driven mem` ber intermediate the driving members havingfrictional facings, said second driving member being movable axially toclamp the driven member with the driving member, and a rubber connectingmeans joining the driving members together, said rubber connecting meansbeing in compression when the driving members are in engagement with thedriven member and being in tension when the driving members aredisengaged from the driven member.

10. A clutch mechanism comprising a driving member, a driven member, apressure ring for engaging and disengaging the driven member withrespect to the driving member, a cover, spring means between the coverand the pressure ring normally urging the ring into position engagingthe driven member with the -driving member, throw-out levers carried bythe cover and connected to the pressure ring, and means connecting thecover with the driving member, said means being in compression whenreacting to the pressure of the spring means during clutch engagementand being in tension when reacting to the force exerted by thethrow-oui'. levers during clutch disengagement.

11. A clutch mechanism comprising a driving 5 membe a driven member, apressure ring for engaging and disengaging the driven member relative tothe driving member. a cover, spring means between the cover and thepressure ring normally urging the ring into a position engaging thedriven member with the driving member, throwout levers connected to thepressure ring, and rubber means bonded to the cover and the drivingmember, said rubber means being in compression when reacting to springpressure force during clutch engagement and being in tension whenreacting to force applied by the throw-out levers during disengagementof the clutch.

12 In a clutch mechanism, the combination of a driving member, a cover,and resilientmeans forming the Isole connection between the cover andthe driving member, said resilient means being in tension when theclutch is disengaged and being in compression when the clutch isengaged.

13. In a clutch mechanism, a recessed driving member, a ring secured tothe driving member and extending into the zone of the recess in adirection normal to the axis of the member,` a

cover for the recess having a peripheral portion extending through thering into the recess in said driving member, the peripheral portion ofsaid cover being parallel to and spaced from the ring, and a' rubbermass fixed between the ring member and the peripheral portion of thecover.

ALFRED MOORHOUSE. v

